OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Paul Weishapl said he was prescribed painkillers when he was 16.
He said the didn't like the way he felt when he took it for the physical pain, but then he began taking it for emotional pain.
"By the time I graduated high school, I had a daily oxycontin habit," he said. "I'd been doing heroin since I was 19. First started seeing (illicit) Fentanyl on the scene in 2009."
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He's been saved by Naloxone, the Narcan generic, seven times, he said.
He said he lost 75 friends to overdose in three years, including very close friends. He said many of them could have been saved if Narcan was easier to access.
On Wednesday, the FDA approved over-the-counter sales of Narcan. Weishapl said that's "a step" to improving ease of access and awareness.
Weishapl has been in recovery for more than three years and is starting up a nonprofit on the issue. There's a disconnect between currently available resources, he said.
"Everyone should have it on them," Weishapl said. "Every first aid kit should have it ... You can't be hurt by taking it."
He said people who think they don't know people struggling with addiction as mistaken.
"I grew up in Dundee," he said. "I went to good schools ... Addiction doesn't really care about how much money, where you grew up, what your morals or, what church you went to, anything," he said. "It's a disease affecting a large proportion of our population at this point."
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So far in 2023, Omaha paramedics have used Narcan on 28 people experiencing overdose, an Omaha Fire Department representative said.
'A really clear gap'
A survey conducted for three years, since 2020, found 25-30% of Nebraskans don't know what Narcan or Naloxone is, said Patrick Habacker, who co-authored the study. He's a research professor at UNL in the Rural Drug Addiction Research Center.
Around 15% said they knew where to get it, he said.
"For us, there's a really clear gap," Habacker told 3 News Now. "This is (a) critical resource to prevent opioid overdoses."
The results were surprising to him, because of the amount of new coverage and free programs.
He said there's no word yet on how much it will cost. A high cost would be problematic, he said.
Where is Narcan available now?
Narcan is available for free at 17 Omaha pharmacies. A complete list of Nebraska locations is here. Iowa locations can be found here.
"As of right now, we'll continue to do that program as long as we can, as long as we continue to get grant money," said Amy Holman, who manages Stop Overdose Nebraska at the Nebraska Pharmacists Association, because it still expands access with a free offering.
Holman said "the hope is" that over-the-counter availability will mean people using the free program will no longer need to provide their name and address.
"It can definitely be a deterrent," she said.
All licensed pharmacies in Nebraska and Iowa can issue Narcan for purchase without a prescription due to standing orders in each state.
Other states have vending machines with Narcan, Holman said, but Nebraska has a law prohibiting prescription drugs in vending machines. That means that despite the standing order, Nebraska has been unable to offer that.
"That will be a possibility in Nebraska going forward," she said.
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